D.J. Eliot
	Position: Defensive Ends Coach Experience: 3rd Season at FSU Alma Mater: Wyoming '99

The Eliot File
Birthdate: August 14, 1976
Hometown:Edmond, OK
High School: Edmond Memorial
College: Wyoming
Family: wife, Miekel; son, Dawson; daughters, Drue and Page.

Coaching Background

•D.J. Eliot completed his 14th season of collegiate coaching in 2011 and heads into his third season with the Seminoles in 2012.

•Eliot has already made his mark, tutoring the players who have helped return FSU to its place among programs with elite pass rushers. Brandon Jenkins, Bjoern Werner and Cornellius Carradine became one of the top defensive end trios in 2011 combining for 20.5 sacks, 31 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hurries and nine pass breakups. For the second consecutive season, the Seminoles ranked among the top 10 national leaders in both sacks and tackles for loss. Eliot's defensive ends accounted for 51 percent of the team's sacks and 36 percent of the tackles for loss. FSU allowed its opponents to run for an average of just 2.35 yards per carry, which led the nation. The Seminoles ranked fourth nationally in total defense (275.0), second in rushing defense (82.69), fourth in scoring defense (15.1), eighth in tackles for loss (8.62) and tied for eighth in sacks (3.08 per game).

•In his first season at Florida State in 2010, Eliot's defensive ends were one of the most improved units in all of college football. He and defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins put together one of the nation's top defensive fronts. Led by Jenkins - an All-ACC first team selection, the Seminoles tied for the national lead with 48 sacks, ranked third with a 3.4 sacks per game and tied for 11th in total tackles for loss. Jenkins totaled 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss to rank among the national leaders in both categories. He also was instrumental in the development of right end Markus White, who doubled his production from his junior to senior year and was a seventh round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2011.

•Eliot came to Tallahassee from Rice in 2010, where he spent three seasons as the recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach. At Rice, Eliot had oversight of the recruiting process; a challenge given the schools' stringent academic standards. He identified and helped develop two true freshmen defensive ends - Scott Solomon (63 tackles) and Cheta Ozougwu (61) - who led all CUSA linemen with 124 combined tackles. They combined for 21 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.

• Eliot was a member of the 2008 Rice staff which guided the Owls to a 10-3 record, capped by a Texas Bowl victory over Western Michigan. It was the program's first 10-win season since 1949 and first bowl triumph since the 1950 Cotton Bowl.

•He is one of three FSU assistants who spent time on the coaching staff at the University of Miami, where he served as a graduate assistant working with defensive backs and special teams in 2002. Mark Stoops was the Hurricanes' secondary coach while Eliot was with the Hurricanes. Eddie Gran also did a graduate assistant stint at Miami a decade earlier.

• Eliot earned his first full-time position at Texas State under David Bailiff, coaching defensive backs one season before a two-year stint with the linebackers. Texas State won the Division I-AA Southland Conference in '05 and qualified for the postseason. Bailiff later hired Eliot to join his staff at Rice.

• Eliot's coaching career also led to a season as the linebackers coach at Tulsa, where he was instrumental in developing CUSA Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bunting as well as standouts Nelson Coleman and Chris Chamberlin. Tulsa earned a berth in the Armed Forces Bowl.

• On the field. Eliot played linebacker for three seasons at Wyoming before injuries led him to a place on the Cowboys' coaching staff as a student assistant for what would have been his senior season. He moved into a graduate assistant role in 1999 after earning his undergraduate degree in natural science and was a zoology minor.

Eliot's Coaching Ledger

Year	School	Position	W-L	Postseason
1998	Wyoming	SA	8-3
1999	Wyoming	GA	7-4
2000	Houston	GA	3-8
2001	Houston	GA	0-11
2002	Miami (Fla.)	GA	12-1	Fiesta
2003	Texas State	DB	4-8
2004	Texas State	LB	5-6
2005	Texas State	LB	11-3	NCAA I-AA
2006	Tulsa	LB	8-5	Arned Forces
2007	Rice	RC/DL	3-9
2008	Rice	RC/DL	10-3	Texas
2009	Rice	RC/DL	2-10
2010	Florida State	DE	10-4	Chick-fil-A
2011	Florida State	DE	9-4	Champs Sports

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